Abdullah Dakhilallah al-Huwaiti, a former employee in the municipality of al-Khuraiba, was arrested, along with Shadly and Mahmoud al-Huwaiti, by Saudi Presidency of State Security (SSP) agents on November 24, 2020. Al-Huwaiti was arrested in response to his public opposition to the NEOM project in light of its consequences on the displacement of the indigenous population.
Abdullah al-Huwaiti was charged with (1) adopting a terrorist approach by defaming the symbols of the state with the intent of destabilising the security of society, (2) providing assistance to those who seek to disturb public order and destabilise the security of society and the stability of the state by following their online accounts and providing them with information affecting the security of the homeland through social networking sites including Twitter, Signal and Telegram, (3) possessing a machine gun without a license, (4) inciting others to carry out terrorist acts, and (5) spreading rumours through his writings and Twitter account.
On January 31, 2022, al-Huwaiti was sentenced by the SCC to 16 years in prison. The sentence was increased to 50 years on appeal in September 2022.
On March 16, 2023, MENA Rights Group and ALQST for Human Rights requested the urgent intervention of several UN Special Procedures mandate holders, including the Special Rapporteurs on extrajudicial, summary, or arbitrary executions and on the right to adequate housing. More specifically, we requested them to urge Saudi Arabia to repeal al-Huwaiti’s prison sentence.
